


A Home for Reyes

by nerdy-flower (baconnegg)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Adopted Jesse McCree, Adopted Sombra, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gabe POV, Gabe gets spoiled by Jack, Gabe's bisexual problems, Gen, Getting Together, Implied Smut, Jack is the stepdad we all deserve, M/M, Mild Angst, Old Men Flirting, Single dad Gabe and lonely veteran Jack, Tenderness, and the boyfriend we need right now, family OCs - Freeform, lots of smooching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:41:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25140274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baconnegg/pseuds/nerdy-flower
Summary: Gabe's living his best single dad life, running a decently successful business, and along comes a cute guy to ruin everything.
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Comments: 32
Kudos: 115





	1. Chapter 1

Gabriel Reyes isn't a resentful man, but he does like to envision a special circle of hell for people with the gall to stroll into a place of business moments before closing time. 

Tall, fading blonde with a slightly-receding hairline, squinting at the rack of ArmourAll wipes by the cash with his arms crossed. Khakis. All the markings of a headache. If he hadn't already sent them home, Gabe would be tempted to ask one of the younger mechanics to handle this for him. “Can I help you?” 

The man's head twitches up to look at him, voice sandpapery but not as abrupt as he expected. A narrow river of scar tissue runs diagonally across his face. “Hi, I wasn't sure if you were open. Do you happen to sell bike locks?” 

“We are for two more minutes.” Gabe settles his elbows on the counter, bracing himself for this guy to casually browse for the next ten minutes, and nods at the opposite wall. “Just over your shoulder there.” 

“Oh.” He sounds momentarily sheepish, whipping around and snagging one from the middle of the rack. “Sorry about this, my old one broke and I didn't want to lug the damn thing upstairs if I didn't have to.” 

Gabe brushes it off, pleased to have been wrong for once. The guy hands him a twenty and tells him to keep the change, hurrying on out. Gabriel watches him throw his leg over the beat-up old Schwinn in the parking lot and ride off past the dry cleaners. Good-looking and not an asshole, those qualities do overlap occasionally. 

The next time he sees the guy, Olivia's watching the counter for him while doing homework. Or at least she's supposed to be doing homework. She's currently more interested in writing 'Sombra' in elaborate, angular purple letters on her binder. “So, thinking about changing your name?” 

She gives him a very adolescent head-shake, but returns to her long division all the same, mood somewhat improved by the blue slushie he sets down beside her. 

The guy rolls up, latching his bike to the metal trash can out front for want of a rack. Change in hand, he nods and half-smiles at Gabe as he approaches the vending machine. “Hot out there, huh?” 

“Sure is.” Gabe nods back. The sweat situation inside his coveralls is unmentionable, even with the aircon on as high as he can afford. 

Jesse rolls up in the Chevy outside, Olivia's cue to stuff all her possessions into her backpack and give Gabe a friendly goodbye arm-punch. She rounds the counter just as the guy turns and whacks right into her, knocking half her slushie onto her chest and prompting a shriek. “Oh shit! I'm so sorry-” 

“Can't you watch where you're going?” Olivia snaps back, accepting the fistful of paper towels Gabe hands her. She's never been quiet, and Gabriel wouldn't have her any other way. 

“I'm really sorry- I actually kind of can't.” He lifts a finger to tap one blue eye, producing a small _tk-tk_ sound. “This one's glass.” 

The girl's scowl morphs into sparkling delight. “Woah, cool! Can you take it out?” 

_“Olivia,_ vamos!” Gabe hisses and shoos her out the door, much to her annoyance. 

The guy just laughs, though his face droops into a sad-puppy look when the door clanks shut, a wave of muggy summer air drifting in. “Hey, I can pay for her shirt if you want, I feel like an ass.” 

“Pfft, don't worry about it.” Gabe resumes his post behind the cash. It's quiet for a Friday, the phone hasn't rung in an hour or more. “She puts her clothes through worse, trust me. Nothing that baking soda can't handle.” 

“Ah, alright.” He twiddles the bottle of Fanta in his hand for a second. “I'm Jack, by the way. I uh, live right around the corner?” 

Gabe lifts an eyebrow. “Are you asking me or telling me?” 

To his credit, Jack huffs a laugh. 

There's a certain desperation to attempting new adult friendships that Gabriel knows all too well. He's at the auto shop most days, and his time off is for his kids. It isn't so bad, his cousins pop by pretty often and his mom is less than an hour away. But Jack, he comes to learn, is a Midwest transplant, alone on the Golden Coast in an apartment block that's just okay. Gabe's not about to reject lunch break conversation. His mechanics are good guys, but they're all in their twenties and common ground is hard to find. 

“Nice crop top, Jess.” Gabe calls out from the cramped laundry room, folding an endless pile of towels atop the washer. 

“Huh? Oh, for-” Jesse yanks his ragged old t-shirt down over his exposed stomach. “It keeps getting caught on my binder.” 

“Maybe we should get you a new one.” Gabe lets the words fall casually, carefully. Jesse's still got a thing about money. “You're getting too damn tall.” 

He really is, Ana couldn't believe how much he'd shot up since her last visit down. Their GP's actually worried about him being underweight, but Gabriel isn't sure what he can do about that considering the kid already eats like a lumberjack. 

“No, this one's fine. New ones are so friggin' uncomfortable.” Jesse paces back and hovers in the doorway while Gabe continues folding. “I finished my biology credit today. One more test on Monday and then I'm done for the summer.” 

“Nice, what did you get?” 

“Eighty-nine for the year, I think? I really goofed up on that anatomy test in the first unit.” 

“That's great! Tell you what-” Gabe drops the stack of towels into his arms. “When I'm done work on Monday, I'll stop and grab Chinese food on the way home. Sound good?” 

“For real?” Jesse grins, his big brown eyes shining. Gabe wishes he didn't sound surprised. He's had him four years and he still has these moments where he wants to just- grab him by the shoulders and really gently shake all the bullshit out of him. Something like that. 

“Of course. We'll do milkshakes when Liv's done next week.” Gabe moves on to the socks, then steps back into the hall. “Don't stay up too late, Rein told me you're opening tomorrow.” 

“I won't!” Jesse calls back, not at all convincing. Gabe shrugs. If he wants to be grouchy in the morning, that's on him. As long as he doesn't oversleep. 

“Twelve and seventeen, huh?” Jack asks, folding a pizza flyer into a paper airplane while Gabe sorts the rest of the mail on the smoking bench out back. “That sounds fun.” 

“It's not so bad- I mean, they sure as hell have their moments.” Gabe scoffs, folding up some bills into his front pocket. He'll open them when he has an extra fuck to give. “But you can talk to them, you know? Babies are cute and all, but you can't reason with them.” 

“Still,” Jack chuckles, picking at their leftovers. He brought these chip truck fries from the shopping plaza down the street, but Gabe ends up finishing them because they only sell larges. “Must be hard, doing it all alone.” 

“Nah, not really. Besides, I chose to do it that way.” 

Jack blinks, blue eyes round and curious. “Oh, so they're-” 

“Adopted, yeah.” Gabriel shrugs, chewing on an overcooked fry. He's gotten his share of comments over the years, most people thought adoption was only for infertile couples and the Amish. “My mom did the same with me, I turned out okay.” 

“Oh, wow.” Jack's serious, lined face breaks into an impressed and genuine grin. “That's really cool. I wish more people did that.” 

An almost-there something prickles along the back of Gabriel's neck, but he pays it no attention and it blows away with the dandelion seeds at their feet. 

Sometimes he wishes summer wasn't their busiest season. He'd like to go home early and watch the kids on the trampoline (not join them, his knee let him know exactly how bad of an idea that was last time), drive them down to the beach and stuff like that. His cousin Lettie's happy to step in for him, but still. It'd be nice to do more on the weekends than pulls weeds from their barren lawn and brave the supermarket. 

“Are you sick? You don't look so good.” 

“Thanks,” Jack smirks, drumming his fingers on the vending machine glass and settling on a Coke. “I couldn't get back to sleep after the earthquake last night.” 

“Oh really? That one didn't even wake me up.” 

“Seriously?” Jack's head snaps around. “My ceiling lamp was swinging and everything. It sounded like my plates were going to fall out of the cupboard. How did you sleep through that?” 

Gabe simply shrugs. “I sleep through anything below a five. Anything above six just means drinks on the patio for Angelenos.” He snickers along with Jack. “Where was the epicentre?” 

“Uh, Death Valley, I think?” Jack yawns, subtly rubbing his jaw afterwards. “God, it almost makes me miss ice storms.” 

Gabe does some quick mental geography and brushes it off. “Yeah, you can keep those. I know how to put snow tires on, but I'm not about to.” He sorts the week's receipts while Jack sags against the counter. “Just go lay down, napping is like, one of the five perks of adulthood.” 

“Can't,” Jack yawns again. “I've got a three o'clock date with Charley at the park, I've gotta push through.” 

Gabe gives himself a mental pat on the back for that one. He knows better than to get his hopes up now. Besides, there's no one worth bringing around his kids. They deserve better than to be put through the awkward middle-aged dating tango. Good on Jack for being willing and able, but he definitely isn't. 

Brief spurts of conversation between customers gets tiresome. It's only when he invites Jack over for Friday night beer that he confirms the guy doesn't have a job, though the reason is more surprising than it ought to be. They had both gone for the Marines straight out of high school, sucked in by the noble, buddy-buddy attitude of the local recruiter. Only difference is Jack stayed for twenty years whereas Gabe's enlistment came to a short, shuddering halt. 

“You could've ended up as my CO,” Jack jokes, crushing a can under his heel and cracking open another. 

“Yeah, if I hadn't got blown to shit,” Gabe grins back. He isn't self-conscious by nature, but he's glad the autopsy-like scars, mismatched skin grafts, and lava flow burns are hidden by pants and crew neck shirts. The staring would get really annoying. 

“You too, huh?” Jack gestures to his face with an almost-fond smile, then leans back in the plastic chair and goes quiet for a moment too long. “Ever feel like you're a prototype that shorted out, so they chucked you onto a trash heap?” 

Gabe takes a long pull of his beer before answering. In the pale porch light, he can see where the angry edges of Jack's scar are just beginning to fade. “Only every other goddamn day.” 

Jack starts grabbing lifts from Gabe when he can, when it's too hot to ride his bike. Left only with the three VA-issued P's- pension, physio, and PTSD -Morrison's got too many empty hours on his hands. Gabriel doesn't mind filling some of them, even just for the sake of having company in line at the DMV. 

Jack reminds him of Ana- in it for the long haul and all the more disheartened by the weak reward of an honourable discharge. Gabe had stayed long enough to be bitter, but got out early enough to gather the threads available to him and open the auto shop. Starting over at their age- the weird twilight of not being actually old but also too old to be worth investing in -it's harder than it looks. Ana was lucky to find her new id in teaching, and she knew it. 

He's interesting like Ana, too. They end up talking for hours on Friday nights, swatting away bugs and lowering their voices after the kids go to bed. The topics aren't always intellectual, but they're always entertaining. Jack talks with his rough, scarred-up hands when he really gets going. “And okay, yes, 'Call Me Maybe' is an obnoxious novelty song, but it's not representative of her talent. You don't judge Spielberg by the last Indiana Jones movie, right?” 

“Yeah, you're gonna have to get the hell off my porch. I don't drink with twinks.” 

“Okay, fuck you. Fuck you for real.” 

Gabriel needs a laugh now and then. He needs it way more than he needs to notice how Jack's whole face lights up when he smiles and his built arms and the way his jeans hug his flat ass. He isn't a hundred percent clear on what 'thirsty' means, but he knows he doesn't need to be it. 

**JM:** Food festival thing in the park tomorrow, wanna go? 

**GR:** Can't, gotta go back 2 school shopping 

**JM:** Oh right, it's almost september damn 

**JM:** Charley finally let me take a really cute picture of her, wanna see? 

**GR:** sure 

The picture loads to reveal a sunny summer afternoon on the beach, palm trees above casting leafy shadows onto a strikingly beautiful Golden Retriever, a tennis ball clasped in her smiling mouth. 

**JM:** Isn't she just the sweetest? She's so great, just a bit high-energy 

Gabriel sets his phone down, folds his arms across his chest, and watches an hour of TV without remembering what he watched. No one will ever know about this. 

He gets over himself in time to invite Jack and his lady love to Sunday dinner. Except of course that's the Sunday he gets two cars from the same accident towed into his shop and has two separate grown-ass adults throwing tantrums, on top of having to deal with the insurance. Why would he be allowed an afternoon off? He doesn't deserve that, of course not. 

**GR:** Hey I'm gonna be late, I'll let you know when I'm leaving 

It's only when he finally climbs into his car that he notices the hours-old texts from Jack. 

**JM:** Oh I just got here, Jesse let me in 

**JM:** Is it cool if I stay? 

Well, hopefully it was. Hopefully this wasn't weird. Hopefully his kids aren't tired of babysitting their dad's friend. Hopefully. 

An apology withers on his tongue when he steps through his door into the smell of something delicious. He comes upon Jack drying some dishes. “Oh, glad you're back! Everything okay?” 

“Yeah, just some usual bullshit.” Gabriel glances around his kitchen- spotless in a way he never leaves it, the oven aglow and throwing heat into the room. “Uh-” 

“Oh, the kids weren't sure what you were planning for dinner, so I went and grabbed the ingredients for a pizza. I hope that's okay, I didn't wanna go through your fridge.” 

Gabriel blinks. “You made it from scratch?” 

“Yeah! I love to cook, and it's super easy.” Jack grins, hanging the damp dishtowel on the over door handle. “I also noticed the faucet was dripping a bit, so I fixed that.” He slips on one of the mismatched oven mitts and checks on the pizza. “I'd give it ten more minutes, you got here just in time.” 

Gabe's glad the kids burst in from their walk with Charley just then. He thanks Jack later, when the stone in his throat shrinks. He supposes there's weaker reasons to stare at the ceiling, alarm clock marking the minutes past midnight, but he can't think of any. 

Jack turns up time and again, like a mama bird with a worm in her mouth. Gabe went from his mom's house to the barracks and back again, never without a house to go to for dinner or leftovers to take home. He's a good cook, but it's functional for him. The leftover brownies he nibbles on after hauling the kids home from the family Labour Day cookout taste of much more. 

If acting as a placebo for loneliness means free snacks, who's he to refuse, right? 

Gabriel can always tell when Jesse's had a bad day, by the clench of his teeth and the way he flops into the passenger seat. “What happened at work?” 

“Nuthin'.” Jesse spits back, staring unseeing out the window. He holds himself like he's about to fistfight God. He's had a few humiliating run-ins with former classmates since dropping out, and Gabriel suspects as much this time. 

Pitying him is about as effective as putting out a fire with gasoline, so Gabe selects his best option. “It's too damn hot to cook. You wanna hit the drive-thru?” 

A stiff shrug. “I guess so.” 

“Okay, text your sister and get her order. If she doesn't answer, she's getting dollar menu.” That produces the slightest snicker. Hopefully a sign he won't work himself into a rage later. 

Jack's just strolling up when they arrive, and doesn't bat an eye when Jesse brushes him off, uncharacteristically rude and not even taking a plate to his room. Gabe pops his head in after wiping the grease from his fingers, not getting details but an assurance that he's fine, just leave him alone and he'll get over it, okay? 

“Alright, door open or closed?” 

“Closed.” Jesse rolls over to face the slightly-dinged wood-panel wall, phone abandoned on his nightstand and lighting up with texts, probably from the Shimada kid. Gabe shuts the door with a quiet click, wishing he could fight the kid's battles for him. 

He returns to find Jack on Olivia's laptop and her on his phone. “Hey, don't download anything weird on there.” 

“I'm nooot,” she mumbles, thin eyebrows knitted together. “Have you _ever_ closed your apps?” 

Jack glances up from typing. “How do you close them?” 

Her lips curl back in disgust. She taps around rapidly and hands his phone back. “Here, it's probably going to take an hour to reboot but I turned on auto-updates. Leave them on.” 

“Thanks, this is good-” Jack passes the laptop back to her, pointing at the screen. “Watch out for run-on sentences, though.” 

“I cannot wait until I never have to write another essay ever again.” Olivia leans backwards in the kitchen chair, faded purple hair drooping into an upside-down mohawk. “Can I just do the GED test and go straight to college?” 

“I mean, theoretically yes, but you'll still have to write essays in your gen eds.” Gabriel smirks at her woeful grumble, glancing at Jack as he stands. “Heading out?” 

“Yeah, Charley needs a bedtime walk or she wakes me up at four.” He slides by with a smile and the briefest squeeze to Gabe's bicep, leaving ghostly imprints of his fingers behind. “Catch you later.” 

He deliberately doesn't think about it, he's learned not to want. He's got what he needs. 

“Why California?” 

“Mm- fuck, I don't know.” Jack bounces his heel against the porch rail, more paint flaking away under his sole. “My parents are great, honestly, but the thought of going back home had me climbing the walls.” Gabriel watches his lips work out of the corner of his eye. “Plus, I always wanted to see the Pacific Ocean.” 

LA's full of reasons like that. Beyond Gabe's neighbourhood, people came and went so often that you never saw the same city twice. The suburbs- though it feels so fundamentally uncool to call them that -are a little slower, people stay a little longer. Kids ride bikes down the wide streets, chasing the orange sunset and lifting their feet to glide down the hills. 

“Aren't you warm?” 

It takes Gabe a second to register, his body sunk into his favourite old hoodie like he's home. “Are you kidding me? It's sixty-five degrees out here.” 

“Yeah, that's still shorts weather.” Jack laughs, resettling himself in the patio chair with a grunt. He teases the tab of his beer loose with one finger, letting it drop into the empty can. “Are you cold-blooded? Is that why you wear black all the time?” 

Gabriel huffs, sipping his own. “No, it's because I have style. Unlike some people.” 

Jack cocks his head, looking young for his age. “Come again?” 

Gabe smirks, holding his gaze. “Look me in the eye and tell me you don't own a Hawaiian shirt.” 

“I-” Jack falters, soft mouth screwing up into a grin. “I'm not going to dignify that with a response.” 

“How noble of you,” Gabriel hums. They sit in silence for a long, comfortable stretch, knees an inch apart. Jack comes back in the morning and they make wraps for lunch. 

He comes back the week after with huge, splendid pumpkins from the farmer's market and laments to Jesse about how underwhelming trick-or-treating in rural Indiana was. Gabe ducks into the shower after coming home especially greasy and emerges to find him carefully painting bleach onto Olivia's shaved sides. If Gabe spots him and Charley strolling by the open garage, he waves a wrench and Jack walks in like he belongs there. 

Ana finally visits again, Fareeha in tow, and only a modicum of self-awareness keeps him from introducing Jack, though he's positive they'd get along famously. 

“Did you ever get to know your birth parents?” 

“Not really, I was a baby when Mom got me.” Gabe tries to rummage through the fridge quietly, finally snagging the dip from behind the leftover empanadas. Their late-night talks had shifted to the kitchen once Jack had at last admitted to the chill outside. “I know some details, but they're both out of state now, and it was sort of a junior prom whoops, you know? I don't think they've even had contact with each other since.” 

“Ah, yeah.” Jack hums low, attempting the impossible task of gently opening a chip bag. “Have you ever wanted to meet them?” 

Gabriel shakes his head definitively. “My mom's always been my mom. I don't remember anything different, so it's not hard for me like it is for older kids.” He subtly gestures down the hall, where his kids had better be sleeping by now. Jesse's no stranger to sneaking out and Olivia will stay up until dawn gaming if she can get away with it. 

“I'm glad you got a good one.” Jack smiles and it creases his face all sweet for a second before he shovels an ungodly amount of dip into his mouth atop a struggling tortilla chip. “My parents thought about fostering, I think they felt bad that I didn't have siblings. But they were just too busy.” 

“Yeah, that might have been a little challenging in between all the breech baby cows.” He's glad Jesse appreciates Jack's graphic farm stories, because his and Liv's stomachs certainly don't. 

“Calving season only lasts a couple months,” Jack snorts, resting his chin on his fist. He's been sitting a little stiffer lately, Gabe too. Something about cool air makes the edges of damaged nerves flare up just in time for the holidays. “I come from a long line of workaholics. Nice workaholics, at least, but I'm pretty sure my mom's gonna be buried in a white coat and scrubs.” 

“No retirement home for her, huh?” 

“God no, she'd have a stroke at the mere thought.” 

They chuckle, and talk some more in the unspooling fashion that's come to thread their evenings together. Jack's somehow come to belong here, much like the muffin tray that now lives in his pots and pans cupboard, though he's not really sure how either of them got here. 

In supremely middle-aged fashion, they end up on the front porch talking some more after mutually agreeing on why they should both head to bed. The neighbourhood is yellow and dim, save the spotlight-bright corner store over yonder, with its icebox out front and a decades-old neon sign advertising lottery tickets. “I think I owe the stoner that works overnights there, that guy's seen me at my worst.” 

Jack laughs, ducking his head- a habit that doesn't seem to fit the square, steely set of his body but is nonetheless endearing. “I'm sure you're not the worst he's seen.” 

“Why, has he seen you?” 

Jack kicks his ankle, Gabe blocks him, and they break off into snickers. “I should try the pharmacy thing when I can't sleep. Though I've been having an easier time now that it's cooler.” 

“Which pharmacy thing?” 

“That thing you did as a kid, where your mom would take you to Walgreens when you couldn't sleep? Maybe it still works on adults.” 

Something prickles at Gabriel's neck, right when his spine slots into his skull. “You remember that?” 

“Yeah, of course I do.” Jack lifts his chin, his eyes unflappably kind and they're standing closer together after horsing around and- fuck. 

Gabe looks off towards the door. It's embarrassing, but it's kinda hard not to be bad at this when his last date was a girl in fishnet sleeves who liked to play with his long hair. He just- 

Jack's warmth brushes his cheeks before his lips do and it's suddenly slightly hard to breathe. Like the air's closed in around them. He sucks a quick breath into his throat and turns as those lips close the gap again. Softer than they looked, barely wet against the corner of his mouth, catching on his beard. Instead of thinking, he lifts the hand that's weirdly pterodactyl-ed between them to cup the jagged curve of a jaw and sweet mother of Jesus, nothing has ever tasted as good as this guy's kiss. 

Hands loosely grasp his upper arms, just holding him for the sake of it. Neither of them manage to fill the gaps with words, seeking out another slide of lips and another until self-awareness sets in and they part, looking at their shoes. “Well, I'm glad that worked.” 

“You smug bastard,” Gabe scoffs, hand sliding around to squeeze the back of Jack's neck. Sirens echo off by the highway and a breeze whistles past them. “We should probably call it a night, huh?” 

“Yeah, it's- two a.m., oops.” Jack glances at his watch. “Maybe we can pick this up tomorrow?” 

“Yeah, I should be done work early.” Jack's hand skims along his own as he steps back. “I'll call you.” 

“Yeah, okay.” That polished smile turns too handsome, far too genuine. “I'll see you then, goodnight.” 

“G'night.” 

Gabriel sinks into bed and half-remembered dreams, recreations of the rightness in their minimal touches and ambitious possibilities of more. He wakes almost anxious, frustrated. He can't want this much this early. There's nothing to be gained from leaping and imagining a soft landing in place of unforgiving rocks. 

Even though Jack walks up to his porch wearing an almost-shy smile, Charley straining at her leash, exactly ten minutes before their agreed meet-up time. He doesn't stay long, the kids are in and out of the house with friends clomping after them, leaving Gabe with an extra homemade bagel and an agreement to give this a shot. The allusion that he's had a thing for him for months has Gabriel chewing for a while. 

Out of the four kids, his oldest cousin probably should have been the one to go into service, not him. Not a single speck of bullshit can fly under Lettie's radar, and she never fails to sound the alarm. “What's their name?” 

He doesn't so much as flinch. “No idea what you're talking about.” 

“Come on, you can't stall forever.” She shakes her head, pretty blue earrings from her Santa Fe girlfriend catching the afternoon sunlight. “At least tell Tia so she can Facebook-stalk them, or let me tell her.” 

“Woman, I will end you.” 

“Aww, you would never.” She squishes his cheeks with both hands and plants an obnoxious kiss on his forehead. Jesse and Olivia tumble out the front door, overnight bags in hand and arguing about something. “Hurry up, kids! We gotta go grab dinner before the movie starts!” 

“Behave yourselves.” Gabe calls after them, restraining the urge to flip Lettie off when she backs her Honda out of his driveway, blasting 'Whatta Man' only slightly too loud to be subtle. He loves her, he does, but he's frozen in her mind as the baby she used to put in her doll stroller and push around his aunt and uncle's driveway. That's not going to change, so he might as well accept it. 

Jack arrives, noticeably freshly-shaved and cleaned up, dressed in his usual Sunday-dog-park attire, though sans his furry shadow. “The sweet old lady next door to me is looking after her tonight. I didn't want her spoiling the mood.” 

Gabriel flicks an eyebrow up. “Is there going to be a mood?” 

Jack laughs and makes a couple halting attempts to speak before conceding and holding up the large tupperware, tied neatly in a plastic grocery bag. “I brought risotto.” 

They're both too blunt to be any good at flirting. They fry up some chicken and shoot the shit like it's any other Friday night. Only when he's putting away the dishes does Jack brush fingers across his lower back and let them linger. “Kinda quiet without those two around, huh?” 

That flips a switch in Gabe's brain, not for the first time, and he steps aside to face him. “Listen, I need you to know- they're always going to come first. If you've been trying to impress them or anything like that, that's not how this is going to work. It just isn't.” 

Crisp and a bit harsh, but necessary. Sam had made a few dating attempts after his and Ana's divorce which both he and Fareeha came to regret. The last thing kids like Jesse and Liv need is someone using them for brownie points, or bypassing them entirely to get at what he wants. It's not like this is going to- 

“No, that completely makes sense, but I-” He sighs, rubs at the back of his neck like he's got a migraine. Gabe schools his face carefully, bracing for the coming disappointment. “Maybe this is weird to bring up right now but, well, my last relationship technically ended because my ex didn't want kids.” 

Gabe folds his arms loosely, lips pressed together. “Define 'technically?'” 

“Well, he said that I was away too much and granted, I was.” Jack lets out one of those bone-deep sighs. Gabriel got used to hearing those from his COs back in the day. The ones who were aged on the inside and had permanent lines of regret etched in their foreheads. “But there were always other reasons. He just didn't want to do the family thing, at least not with me.” 

“How long were you together?” 

“Twelve years, lived together nine or ten.” 

“Shit.” 

“Yeah.” 

“Did you split before or after you caught shrapnel with your face?” 

“Before,” Jack snorts, brushing a few crumbs off the edge of the sink with his thumb. “He's not a bad guy, we've talked a few times since but- yeah, it sucked. It sucked and it still hurts.” 

“Yeah, sounds like it.” Gabe rocks back on his heel, the air hanging awkwardly. 

“That's why I- ah, nevermind.” 

“No, tell me.” Gabe feels something surging through him, seemingly what Olivia refers to as 'youngest sibling energy.' 

“S'nothing.” Jack scratches just below his glass eye, looking oddly embarrassed. “I just- I like that you're the whole package, y'know? You've raised two really great kids and I love hanging out with them. Dunno if they feel the same way but hey, I'm doing my best.” 

The stone in his throat returns as Jack chuckles at himself and it's Gabe's turn to glance off. “Well, I can really only claim partial credit for that.” 

He shakes his head before Gabe can even finish. “No way, you're a better dad than I could ever imagine myself being. They're so fucking lucky to have you.” 

Is this what does it for him now, in the year of our Lord two thousand and eighteen? This probably shouldn't be making him feel the way he did when he was thirteen and three girls in the grade above him called across the playground that he had a nice butt. Or is it in combination with the home-cooked food and the effortless respect of his boundaries? Youth is ephemeral, stupidity is apparently forever. 

“You're cute when you blush.” 

His brain crashes back down to immediate reality. “Shut the fuck up, Morrison.” 

“Oh, is that how it is?” Jack cocks his head with a smile and pushes off the counter, hooking his fingers into Gabriel's empty belt loops but not stepping closer, just running the black denim between his fingers. “Didn't think you'd be a kinky bastard on the first date, but you're just full of surprises, hm?” 

“Eager, are we? Dry spell been getting to you?” 

Anyone else would tell him to fuck off, but Jack just laughs, drags his eyes back up to meet Gabe's. “Dry spell nothing, you've been getting to me. You should need a permit for being this hot.” 

Gabriel feigns a sigh, reaching out to drag his thumb along Jack's jawline. “And here I thought you liked me for my personality.” 

“Well that too, but I didn't keep coming back for the wiper fluid selection, now did I?” Jack's hands skate up to his waist and he leans in just short of his mark. “Is this okay?” 

“Very.” Gabe grins and leans in, tasting mint on Jack's tongue. What a considerate guy. 

Actually he's a straight up fucking gentleman, quite literally. Gabe's never had anyone undress him before. He had effectively pretended to himself that Jack's seen scars and it doesn't matter, but he can't deny the relief when Jack mouths along his torn-up chest without hesitation. It feels weird in some spots, but he feels too good everywhere else to complain. He slips his hand between Jack's legs, squeezes, and finally hears that moan in his ear that has him aching. 

He doesn't wrap his legs around just anyone, but Jack's good. Tender in his touches and no showing off, gives it to him good and steady and keeps kissing him as he comes. 

He passes out like a jerk after, but Jack doesn't seem to mind. Gabriel wakes to the naked man spooned up close behind him, surrounded by his warmth and unaware of the time. Strong arms squeeze him tight when he tries to move. “Nn, five more minutes.” 

“I have to piss.” 

“You're not that old, you can hold it.” 

Gabriel snorts but opts to stay, he doesn't really want to get up. Jack cuddles up closer, lazily smooching along his neck and letting his whole body go limp on an exhale, like he'd be content to lay there all day. 

Gabe doesn't know what to do with any of this. He wants to stay, he wants to jump up and go jog for an hour or more, he wants- he wants more than a glimmer of possibility. He wants _this,_ often and at great length. 

“Goddamnit, now I have to piss.” 

He laughs, reluctantly tugging the covers back and exposing the stale sweat on his skin to the air. “I called first dibs.” 

They end up back in bed, wrapped loosely around each other and lazily making out. Jack scratches gently along his scalp and Gabe kicks his leg like a dog to catch a glimpse of that smile. Jack's eyelashes have surpassed his hair, already blanched and awfully pretty this close up, gilding the pleasantly glazed expression on his face. Jack seems hungry to touch every inch of him. When they finally roll out of bed, Gabe feels like he's had a full-body massage. 

“Geez, you don't have to go full Food Network.” Gabe frowns, having returned from the shower to find Jack half-dressed and French toast already waiting for him. “At least let me help.” 

“No, it's okay, I've got it.” Jack leans over to kiss Gabriel's still-damp cheek, flipping the omelettes as he grins. “How did I know you owned a goth bathrobe?” 

“Fuck you, it's chilly.” Gabe smirks and tightens the fluffy belt. “And this was a Christmas gift.” 

They eat with Jack's hand curled on Gabriel's knee. Even though his expression defaults to 'tired,' Gabe sees something like contentment in the set of his jaw. The way his mouth curves up when Gabe squeezes his wrist holds his attention completely, as does their parting embrace inside the front door of Jack's modest apartment, with Charley nosing at their thighs. 

Gabriel decides to save his non-announcement for a dinner-in-front-of-the-TV night, hoping to minimize the awkwardness. “So, Jack and I are dating-” 

“Yeah, we know.” Olivia interrupts, not peeling her eyes away from the CGI gore onscreen. “When's he moving in?” 

“Uh, not for a year or more, at least.” 

“What, are you guys savin' it for marriage or something?” Jesse asks around a mouthful of fries, one leg thrown over the arm of the chair that's old and battered but too comfortable to drive to the dump. 

“Yeah, I thought you were getting us a stepdad.” 

“I-” Gabriel breaks off on a sigh. “Thanks for being supportive, I guess. I just wanted to let you know that if he ever does something to upset you, you can tell me. You don't have to put up with bullshit on my behalf, I can easily find someone else.” 

Olivia replies, without missing a beat and while hitting the 'next episode' button with her toe. “Really? How many years did it take you to find this one?” 

Jesse barks a laugh loud enough to echo, almost choking on his food as he wheezes. Gabe closes his eyes and counts to three while they cackle. “You know what? I'm gonna let you have that one.” 

“Is he going to be our stepdad though?” Olivia peers up at him, zipped inside a Pokemon onesie that's a size too big for her. “My birthday's in twenty-eight days, I'd be more than happy to accept some kind of ingratiating gift.” 

“First, no. Second- I don't know how to tell you that your approval shouldn't have a dollar value assigned to it.” 

“I also take Bitcoin.” 

“I told you, no cryptocurrency until you're eighteen.” Gabe sets his empty plate on the table and leans back, stomach full and sleep tugging at his eyes. “More to my point, you guys are both cool with this? You can be honest.” 

He watches Jesse out of the corner of his eye. Even moreso than Olivia, he wants this house to be a safe place for Jess. He knows he's going to need it. 

Jesse shrugs, amicable as ever. “Nah, he's cool. Just don't be gross in front of me and I'm fine.” 

Olivia shakes her head, faded hair flopping into her face. “Yeah, hard no on PDA.” 

“That's a unanimous vote, trust me.” Gabe snorts, scratching his overgrown beard as another undead beast is impaled by what few cast members still live. Jesse heads to his room after the episode ends, Olivia stays curled into her end of the couch, absorbed in her handheld game, and Gabriel's phone dings. He opens it to a picture of slice-and-bake Christmas cookies. 

**JM:** The kids were telling me about these so I grabbed a pack to see what the 'hype' is, will let you know how they turn out. Hope you're having a good night xo 

In the dim, artificial glow of their small living room, Gabe feels a knot slip loose inside his chest. Maybe he is allowed to have this.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack looks so at-home in Gabe's bed, stretched out in a V-legged sprawl wearing nothing but sweatpants and squinting at his phone. Like he belongs here. There's a peace about him that Gabe is loathe to disturb. 

He sits at the foot of the bed to pull off his socks. “So, my mom's having a barbecue this Saturday. We're both invited.” 

Jack snorts, barely lifting his head from the pillow. “Why are you making it sound like a funeral?” 

“Because my family can be a little bit of a lot,” Gabriel grunts, massaging the day out of his neck. “And I don't want you to send you running just yet.” 

“You really I'm that easy to scare off?” Jack pats the empty half of the bed, Gabe's signal to hurry up and settle in, pulling the covers up with him. “I'm excited to meet them. Should I bring food?” 

“You'll bring some even if I say no.” He chuckles, smearing a kiss across Jack's cheek and laying his head on his shoulder as darkness slides coolly over their eyelids. “We can establish a signal. If they start asking you too many personal questions, just flash the SOS and I'll create a distraction.” 

There's nothing quite like the sleepy rasp of Jack's laugh rumbling through his chest, it consistently sends Gabriel right off. Sleeping semi-deeply until Jack rises at dawn, leaving him to curl into a blanket cocoon for exactly fourteen more minutes, to coast along the fuzzy edge of his dreams as Charley jingles out of her bed and down the stairs behind her owner. 

Months on, it's a continued surprise to find Jack at his stove, contentedly forging breakfast from last night's leftovers. He sees Olivia off and kisses Gabe good-bye. If Jesse's home doing coursework, Charley will be entrusted to his care while Jack does the laundry and honest-to-god irons all their jeans. There had been a flinch early on, over a bathroom cleaning session Gabe recalls, that Jack was trying to impress or worse yet, improve on what he found fault in. But time proved the truth much simpler, the guy's most at ease when he has someone or something to look after. 

His apartment is essentially a storage and occasional retreat space now. A question often touches Gabriel's tongue but has yet to leap from it. 

Jack has some errands to run downtown that Saturday, so opts to meet them there. Gabriel stops at home long enough to shower and change before hustling his kids plus Genji into the car, ruffling the kid's newly-clipped sides as he climbs into the passenger seat. “Well, you cut some of your hair.” 

“It looks better long,” Genji huffs, slouching like he'll never get back problems. His fingers buzz across the screen of his phone faster than his soccer-playing legs can go. 

“Yeah, but it's gonna start falling out in big nasty clumps if you keep bleaching it to the roots.” 

“Speaking from personal experience?” Jesse asks from the backseat, a grin in his voice. 

“Not me, Maria.” Gabe's lip curls back on a smirk. “She was basically bald for a month because she tried some kind of hair-dye chemistry experiment. But do _not_ tell her I told you that, all photo evidence was destroyed years ago.” 

The kids tumble out of the car as soon as he parks, and Gabriel finds his- he finds Jack before his mom, dragging tables around the backyard. “When did you get here?” 

“An hour ago.” His tongue peeps briefly over his bottom lip as he lines up the corner of one table with another. “The Facebook invite said four o'clock, right?” 

“Did you- ah, Christ,” Gabe laughs, shaking his head and letting his hand warm Jack's lower back, shirt damp with sweat even though it's barely spring. “Hope you haven't been too bored.” 

“Not a bit, your mom's hilarious.” Jack flashes him a big smile, bending to root around in the cooler. 

“Nice- wait, what did she tell you about me?” 

Jack stands, slips a beer into Gabe's hand, and leaves a kiss on his cheek as he goes to grab more chairs. 

“There you are!” Gabriel turns and finds his face buried in thick, greying box braids, strong arms sliding snug around his shoulders. “I haven't seen you in weeks.” 

Gabriel hugs her back, accepting a maternal smooch to his cheek. “Yeah, I know, but you know how it is.” He remembers the floor of the record store before it became a CD store. Now a record store again, with a buy-and-sell section that attracts local kids upon whom Gina Reyes enacts her remaining latent maternal impulses. 

“Lettie told me you found that one before Christmas.” His mom nods past his shoulder, leading him inside to cook while the kids throw the frisbee for Charley. “Keeping secrets now, are we?” 

“Pft, no way.” Gabe sighs, bracing for the inevitable. “I just wanted to feel things out first. Remember all those disasters the twins brought home?” 

“Be nice,” a low voice wafts up from the recliner. “We all make our own series of mistakes.” 

“Hey, Tio.” Gabe pops his head over while his mom pulls an assortment of prepped ingredients from the fridge and cupboards. “How are things?” 

“Well, I threw my back out this morning and now I'm sitting here, so it could be worse.” He hums, idly flipping the remote control in one broad hand. “Your boyfriend brought brownies, that's pretty exciting.” 

“I thought you and Tia gave up chocolate for Lent?” Gabe half-smiles, lingering with one arm on the back of the too-soft chair. “And it's not 'boyfriend' after forty, it's partner.” 

Antonio shakes his head. “Nah, that's no good. You're not starting a law firm with him, are you?” 

Gabriel just shakes his head and shuffles back into the kitchen. No weekend cookout is complete without a little Camarillo zen wisdom. “Are those new speakers?” 

“Hell yeah, I decided to give myself an early birthday present.” Gina strokes the little black cylinders on the windowsill, raspy folk rock thrumming through them at odds with her MIA tank top. “Unless I'm driving, I've officially broken up with radio. I'm tired of hearing the same Post Malone single over and over, he has other good songs.” 

“Post-it who?” 

She looks at him over her glasses with a loving sort of disdain, filling a plastic bowl with tapwater. “I had hoped having teenagers would catch you up, I should have known better.” 

Even though it's still chilly (meaning the start of shorts season for Jack) outside, the guests roll in like clockwork. His Tia joins them, fresh from the urgent care in her scrubs, helping them finish and clean up. Mom's friends from the co-op show up, the neighbours come around the fence, and Lettie brings her roommates just in time to not help with the food. 

He finally emerges from the kitchen, the sky on fire with purples and flour under his nails, distant ocean winds lifting the air. He clasps and gently shakes the shaved head of a shorter man hanging around the patio door. “Hey Rafa, where's your better half?” 

“My sister or my girlfriend?” His youngest-by-ten-minutes cousin pushes his glasses back up with his thumb, bouncing the pouty baby in his arms. “I lost track of both of them a while ago.” 

“Ah. Hey now, put that back before you trip on it.” Gabriel taps the bottom lip of the golden-eyed, curly-haired little girl, only for her to grumble and hide her face in Rafael's neck. “Aww, are we sad today?” 

“Extremely,” Rafael grins, easily shifting from one foot to another as he rubs her back. “I think she's had enough, but I'm afraid where she'll run to if I set her down.” 

“Wait, she can run?” 

“Oh yeah, it's all over for me now.” He laughs, shaking his head. “It was nice knowing you, I'll see you in like five years when she stops trying to bolt into traffic.” 

Gabe laughs in turn. “You'll miss it, trust me.” 

Rafael rolls his eyes good-naturedly. He looks kinda tired, but considering him and Mandy take turns driving the same ambulance, the fact he's still upright is a miracle. “So I've been told.” 

He locates Jack at the grill, moving his shoulders to the thumping bass and tending to the carne asada with care. “Want me to take over? You don't have to stand here all night, you know.” 

“No way, you couldn't pry me away from here. Do you know the last time I grilled?” Jack pats the lid of the barbecue and sighs with a fondness he usually reserves for his dog. “It's been too long.” 

The nearby hardware store's summer section flashes through his mind, but he chooses to ignore it. Dinner is served at last and everyone eats like they're not going to be sent home with leftovers. Citronella candles are lit and chairs scrape this way and that over the concrete tiles. Gabe acquires the coveted spot by the cooler, but ends up bracketed by the primas he loves and tolerates. 

“Look at him.” Lettie flicks her eyes meaningfully towards Jack, clearing away dishes alongside Gina like the polite bastard he is. “Never thought you'd find an even bigger nerd than you.” 

“He's a good guy, okay?” Gabriel keeps his voice low, hoping to encourage the both of them to do the same. 

“Did he get his ass shot off?” Maria asks, taking a drag off her cigarette and blowing the smoke to one side. “There's like nothing happening back there.” 

“I swear to fucking God-” 

“Are the girls bugging you again, Gabriel?” Sylvia comes up behind him, scritching his hair with her short nails like she used to when he was little. “Poor guy, you never catch a break.” 

“Nah, he wants to hang out with us.” Lettie gently punches him in the arm, reminding him slightly of Olivia, who's currently attempting a backflip on the trampoline. “He misses being surrounded by beautiful women, don't you?” 

“All my life,” Gabriel drawls, sipping on his rum cooler and feeling the warmth tickle his throat. 

“You found a pretty cute guy, though.” Sylvia leans against the stucco wall beside them, her hand lingering on Gabe's shoulder. “Jesse was telling me he's retired military? He looks the type.” 

“Ooh, I bet he has good insurance.” Maria pats his forearm eagerly. “I take it back, you scored a good one.” 

“Can you not-” Jack nears the table across from them, dishtowel slung over his shoulder as he stacks plates. 

She shoots a look at him, contrasting her polished mortgage-selling bun and blouse. “Listen, I'm working fifty hours a week and I still have a thirty-percent co-pay. You're not getting younger and neither are your teeth, I'm just looking out for you.” 

“Let's be honest, though. Gabriel's only with him for the food.” Lettie grins bright, lips neatly lined in red. An eternally youthful spirit with fewer wrinkles than Gabe, which is rude. “Speaking of, does he take dessert commissions? Saiqa's birthday's next week and I'd pay good money for a cake half as good as those brownies.” 

“That's-” 

“Si, yo puedo hacer magdalenas tambien.” Jack smiles kindly at them, tucking the dishes under one arm. “Puedes pasarme una cerveza, Gabe?” 

Gabe dutifully hands him one of the good cans the neighbours brought over while the three women stay quiet until he disappears inside. Lettie breaks the quiet with a glaring huff. “All the gringos in LA and you just _had_ to date the bilingual one, didn't you?” 

Maria stubs out her smoke on the sole of her loafer. “I'm standing by my ass statement.” 

“I'm better off pretending I didn't hear that,” Sylvia muses and wanders away, the cuffs of her scrubs dirty from chasing after her grandkids. 

Gabe takes a long chug of his drink, already tired and past caring. “Don't worry, his front more than makes up for it.” 

The groans and the smack he gets from Lettie are well worth it. 

Arriving early means leaving last from his Mom's crowded driveway, but sleepy kids are easier to load into the car. Rafa expertly straps his into her carseat and counts his stepkids. “Alright, I've got four. How many do you have?” 

“Three.” Gabe glances to double-check, shooting a quick text to Sojiro that Genji is sleeping over again. 

“That's the right number.” Rafael gives him the quickest of masculine side-hugs, car keys swinging around one finger. “Love you, man. See you all Easter Sunday?” 

“You know it.” Gabe smiles at the nod his cousin and Jack exchange through the windshield. The guy has an aspirational level of chill, especially by comparison. Charley settles in the backseat as they finally pull out, streetlight flicking across the car's interior and the headlights pointing them home. 

“How does this kid sleep with his socks on? It's unnatural.” Gabe throws a thin blanket over Genji, face-down and food-comatose on their couch, snoring like no tomorrow. 

“Don't judge what you can't understand,” Jack chuckles, stashing their leftovers in the fridge and cradling Gabe's arm when he slides up behind him. “Oof, don't squeeze me, you'll regret it.” 

“Mom's a great cook, hm?” Gabriel sets his chin on Jack's shoulder, he could go to sleep standing right here, the thin light over the stove coaxing his eyelids shut. 

“Gina invited me to Mass next week. Is it cool if I go, or would you rather keep that a family thing?” 

“Hm?” Gabe twitches back to full consciousness, spitting toothpaste into the sink. “Oh yeah, if she invited you, you'd better be there. Unless you don't want to go.” 

“No, it sounds like fun. Plus, I was told there would be brunch.” Jack snickers, kissing Charley on her perfect golden head and patting her side. “Go to bed now, good girl.” 

Gabriel stumbles over to bed and crawls in. Maybe he'll be tired enough to skip the nightmares tonight- they often return as the weather gets warmer. Never narratives or even images, just feelings. Jack's an old pro, wordlessly elbowing him and letting him get up and wander without question. 

“Hey, uh- this is just food for thought, but I'm flying out to Indiana in a few weeks for Passover. Do you wanna come with me?” 

His eyes snap awake. “What, really?” 

“Yeah.” Jack settles into his side of the bed, his gaze held on Gabe's face. “I have like, a stupid amount of air miles. I could bring you and the kids for free, if you want.” 

The idea and its implications buffer slowly in Gabriel's mind. “A whole week, though?” 

“Sure, when's the last time you had a week off?” A long pause is broken by Jack's snort. “See? C'mon, that young guy who does the scheduling could handle the shop for a bit, I'm sure.” 

“I mean, yeah.” Sonny's a good kid, and as long as payroll's done ahead of time- “Would your parents want us there, though? It's kinda sudden.” 

“Yeah, of course.” Jack's voice softens subtly and a thumb sweeps across Gabe's cheek. “Plus it's your turn now, right?” 

“I guess.” Gabe chuckles, wrapping uncertainty in humour. “Is that fairness or revenge?” 

“Neither.” Jack scoffs, going quiet a while, his fingers skating over Gabe's stomach. “Your mom told me about the store name, by the way.” 

“Oh pft, yeah.” Gabe shifts against the aging mattress, letting his neck relax into the pillow. “I don't even know if that's true, s'just a story.” 

But GG Records was just an empty, dingy storefront until she bought it and half-filled it with her own collection. Gabriel knows from his aunt and from photos how long she spent behind the cash with her foot rocking his bouncy seat. It was theirs, in that sense. They both owe a lot to it. 

“Tonight was really nice.” Jack murmurs against his shoulder, now sounding half-asleep himself. “It's great that so many people love you.” 

Does Gabriel know what to do with that? Not in the slightest. “I mean, if that's what you wanna call it.” 

Between Jack's puff of laughter and the snuffles of Charley in her bed-away-from-home, it at least registers that his bedroom no longer feels so unnecessarily large. 

The kids' excitement is only slightly dampened by Gabriel prodding them into doing their most of their homework ahead of time. Jesse's never been on a plane before and he's pumped until the moment the thing takes off and he ends up face-deep in a paper bag. Gabe switches seats, coaxing Jesse to keep down the club soda and Gravol while Jack's attention is gradually drawn from his podcast to the level Olivia's trying to beat. 

“You'll be alright, Jess.” Gabe drops into the seat of the rental car with a grunt. “Just keep the window down and breathe through your nose.” 

“M'fine,” Jesse grumbles, curled up inside his leather jacket. “Better now that we're on the ground.” 

“I'll get my mom to drug you up before we leave.” Jack glances over his shoulder, fiddling with the GPS on his phone. “She's got the good stuff, don't worry.” 

“There's snow on the ground,” Olivia interjects, a disturbed edge to her words as they exit the vast airport parking lot. “Why does anyone live here? Do you even get summer?” 

“Of course. It gets up to a hundred and four, hundred and five some days in July.” 

“What, why- I don't-” Olivia stalls out, Gabe catching her shiver in the rearview. “Dad, can you turn the heat up?” 

“Sure thing, princess.” The side-eye he receives is withering, but worthwhile. 

The kids end up napping in the back, though time-zone magic means it's still only lunchtime. Flat, empty fields line the roads, gradually interrupted by stretches of houses, then soccer fields, then the largest Walmart Gabe has ever seen. They miss the downtown, skirting along the city limits where the railroads run and aged industrial buildings fold into themselves. 

Between directions, Jack numbers the scenery as Gabriel shifts between highway and residential speeds. Back there is the high school that hosted all his teenage humiliations, there's the old house of a friend whose divorced dad had a Pac-Man machine in the garage, and yonder is the tree that he fell out of and on whose roots he broke his front baby teeth. “Oh wow, they finally fixed up the rink! That's where I used to play hockey.” 

“You played hockey?” 

Jack raises a smiling eyebrow. “Why is that surprising?” 

“Not football, Little League, Boy Scouts?” 

“I was never in Scouts, we've been over this.” Jack snorts, resting his elbow on the window. “I had chickens to feed and hay to toss, I was too busy. I was in Little League for a couple summers, though.” 

Gabe chuckles. “Ever bring home any big shiny trophies?” 

“Hockey, yes. Little League, no- they put me in the outfield and none of the other kids could hit the ball that far. I was just there for the hot dogs and freezies.” He perks up suddenly, pointing at a tiny blue sign clinging to a metal pole. “That's my street, we're almost there!” 

The kids revive as the Toyota follows the curve of the somewhat-paved road and bumps down a long gravel driveway. It's not physically freezing, only spiritually, so the square pastures that frame the property are open and muddy, mummified remnants of corn stalks sticking up above the wet snow. An enormous faded-green barn looms behind the farmhouse, its white vinyl siding greyed by winter grit. The driveway widens into an oblong of gravel, where Gabe stops beside a little blue hatchback as a woman appears on the porch. 

Gabe runs the math on when Jack would have last seen his mom and quickly forgives him for ditching them with the suitcases. He soon returns and introduces the woman under his arm, so petite that the pair of them appear almost comical, as Beth. “It's so nice to meet you all! Jack's told me so much about you!” 

The brief cringe in Jack's expression might go unnoticed by the untrained eye, but an adolescence spent spotting shoplifters leaves Gabe smirking. 

They spend the afternoon in the usual niceties and awkward shuffling around, taking in the house where they'll be spending the night. The sogginess outdoors is blocked out by the quaint comfort inside- a well-curated living room with an old wooden computer desk in one corner opposite a real fireplace, balanced by an outdated TV against the far wall. Photos of a little blonde boy in oversized rainboots, grandma sweaters, and graduation gowns decorate the mantle and stairwell. At last, an aged copy of Jack walks through the door, pizza in hand, and they gather in the enormous kitchen to dine. 

Jim doesn't seem like much of a talker, but Beth more than makes up for it. As the exhausting miracle of air travel catches up with them, she reads the room and brings her slim, work-roughened hands together. “Well, we're a little short on space, so someone will have to take the sofa bed-” 

“Dibs,” Olivia announces, standing from the table and clomping into the living room, crouching to rummage through her suitcase even as Gabriel hisses her name in warning. 

Beth simply finds it amusing, giggling a bit like Jack does when he's had a beer too many. “Wonderful, then Jesse, you can have the spare room. I laid out some extra blankets in case the temperature change was a bit much.” 

Jack and Gabriel are left to Jack's childhood bedroom, which is even more delightful than Gabe expected. Preserved and dusted rather than converted into something more useful, all is as the young man left it years ago. Down to the boxes of comics on the bookshelf, the movie posters on the wall, and the Star Wars bedsheets. “Is there a kink for this? I feel like there's a kink for this.” 

“You leave R2-D2 out of your horny schemes,” Jack scoffs, stretching with a few audible pops before collapsing backwards into the bed. He should sink into familiar comfort, but stays stiff until Gabriel lays down beside him. Jack's arms swallow him up and his lips find the hinge of his jaw. “I'm glad you decided to come.” 

“Yeah, I am too.” Or he will be provided Jack's parents don't find him lacking, or grow to dislike his loud, high-energy West Coast kids, or- 

Another kiss, against his cheek. “You're so warm.” 

“Now who's the horny one.” Gabe huffs, the air dried out by the gas furnace. He can hear the news playing low downstairs, his eyes adjusting to the faint moonlight shining through the lace curtains. “Interesting placement for that Lost Boys poster, hm?” 

“Do we need to talk about Erik Estrada again?” 

Gabriel closes his mouth with a click. “Absolutely not.” 

He can feel Jack's smile. “I thought so.” 

They lazily make out until they fall asleep, both of them lingering in the familiar. Breakfast comes early and Jack leads them out afterwards into the muck to meet all the animals. Jesse goes chasing after an escaped chicken and Olivia shrieks when the cutest calf Gabe's ever seen swallows her hand to wrist, all the wholesome postcard fun they were hoping for. Jesse's eyes are big and sweet, looking all around without being too obvious. Gabe just hopes that if he ends up in a place like this someday he remembers to call. 

“We used to have more cows but they're expensive, and milk's gone down.” Jack strokes Betsy's black-and-white side, giving her a couple firm pats for good measure. “We had one when I was a kid that was mean as hell, used to kick me any chance she got.” 

“So no horses, huh?” Olivia asks, peering into the barn disappointed, her face puckered from the smell of manure. 

“Actually, we're boarding one right now.” Jim nods, looking like a cartoon of a farmer with his boots, overalls, and half-empty bucket of feed. “Go on in and say hi, she's a nice one. Just don't startle her.” 

That's enough to excite both kids and send them running, even as Jack frowns. “If we let them ride her, will Crystal have one of her tantrums again?” 

Jack's dad pulls his ballcap off to scratch the back of his head. “Well, we just won't mention it. She's off in Aruba right now.” 

“Okay, because if I get one more passive-aggressive Facebook message, I'm blocking her. I'll do it.” 

“Now, don't start anything-” 

“I never do, she does. She's exhausting-” 

Gabe trails behind, feeling a touch of the third wheel. If Jim has better things to do, he doesn't say, boosting Olivia onto the horse and letting Jesse take the reins himself after a little tutorial. Gabriel's relieved to see his kids smiling as the mare trots patiently around the pen. The reprieve of a week off school isn't always enough to make an awkward dad vacation truly enjoyable. 

He keeps his fretting to himself, even when they're sent on a grocery adventure and the kids are more interested in making the most of the wi-fi than joining them. Jesse's on the tractor when they get back, and Olivia's been tied into an apron and tasked with washing and chopping vegetables. “Look at you go. Maybe you won't get scurvy in college after all.” 

“I've watched you eat leftover takeout three days in a row, don't come for me.” Gabe simply ruffles her hair in response, agitating her briefly. He doesn't know where he'd be without her to consistently check his ego. 

The Seder is just them, but they dress a little nice and make an evening of it. The food is fucking outstanding and Gabe will gladly go up a notch on his belt if he can score some more brisket before they leave. Beth seems grateful to fill the eager stomachs of teenagers, mentions of cousins and aunts always followed by whichever state or country they're elsewhere in. They seem healthy and able for now, but Gabe can't help but wonder if Jack will be summoned back here someday, though there's no point in pondering those implications. 

“So, what grades are you two in again?” At their answers, Beth turns her bespectacled eyes on Jesse. “Close to graduation, huh? That's exciting! What are your plans for the fall?” 

“Ah, well,” Jesse drawls, taking an extra moment to chew his bite of potato. “Gotta work and save up a bit of money first-” 

“I'm going into IT,” Olivia interjects, rescuing Jess on purpose or not. “If you need some antivirus software on that computer, I'm your woman.” 

“Decided already? Good for you! I was still planning on being a ballerina when I was your age.” 

They eventually retire to that great American pastime, half-assedly watching TV after a delicious, heavy meal, except for Beth who reappears with her blouse sleeves rolled up. “Alright, who's going to help me clean up? Oh, not you, dear-” She touches Jesse's shoulder when he moves to stand. “You're a guest. Come on, Jack.” 

Jack sighs as she pads back into the kitchen. “Ma, can't you just come sit with us? You never relax.” 

“I do when the dishes are done,” she calls back over the rush of water.

Jack groans softly and Gabe's glad he's not the only one who reverts to his thirteen-year-old self when he goes home. “I'll do them later, just come sit down.” 

“You've never done them later in your entire life,” comes the half-laughing, half-serious reply. “Don't make me come back in there, John Francis Morrison.” 

Olivia and Jesse break off into snorting giggles. “Oh my god, is that seriously your name?” 

“Technically it's John Francis Morrison the Second,” Jim adds from his recliner, uncurling one finger from his glass of coke and ice. “Don't think they squeezed that onto your ID, though.” 

The kids snicker again, Jesse slinging his arm over the back of the couch. “Yeah, I'm gonna have to steal your lunch money later, sorry.” 

Jack looks to Gabe for support, receives a shrug, and simply shakes his head, affecting a snobbish tone that doesn't fit him. “For what it's worth, I was named after a war hero.” 

“That medal was a participation trophy,” Jack's mother is heard to curtly reply. “You know your grandfather liked to talk big.” 

Gabriel falls asleep with Jack blanketed across him and wakes cradled against his chest. Jack feigns being half-asleep as long as they can get away with, tracing patterns on his back and caressing him for the sake of it. Clingy in a way Gabriel never anticipated. 

It's almost odd. His past relationships started hot and cooled to simmering fairly quick, it seemed the natural order of things. Jack's certainly never been shy, but each week that passes sees him drawing a little closer, his edges softening. Gabe's not about to complain, and he's far from hesitant when it comes to reciprocating. 

The pull of that tide prompts Jack to invite him out to the local drive-in theatre. He offers it to the kids despite the clear implication, but they're more interested in laying about, petting sheep, and exploring the wide-open flatland around them than hanging out with their dad and his part-time live-in-partner. He could've reached that conclusion by himself, but didn't want them to think he was ditching them, or Jack's parents to think that he expects the world to be his babysitter. 

“This is the coolest place, they haven't changed anything except the price of admission in thirtyish years. Although they do have a website now.” Jack grins, pointing out turns for Gabe as they cruise through the twilight. “I can't even count how many movies I've seen here.” 

“How many dates did you bring?” 

“None.” 

“Bullshit.” 

“No, I'm serious.” Jack laughs, only a little. “Aside from that like- weird middle school dating, I didn't go out with anyone back then. I waited until I was gone.” 

“Oh?” He glances over at Jack, looking all handsome with his jacket hanging open despite Gabe wondering how he's going to last the film with the heater off. “How come?” 

“I dunno, I just-” Jack drags his foot along the well-vacuumed floor mat. “I didn't want to end up staying here and getting married because we got bored.” 

Not exactly an uncommon sentiment, even if Gabriel isn't personally familiar with it. A more interesting question curls on his tongue. “Do you feel at home anywhere?” 

He sees Jack's eyebrow twitch up, hears him blow out a breath. “Not really? But at the same time, I dunno, I don't really need to.” 

They buy tickets, soda, and popcorn from a Volkswagon bus parked on cement blocks and take in a month-old horror movie that's just bad enough to be entertaining. Jack's arm wrapped around his shoulders like they're on a real date. Even if he doesn't have the same roots tied to his ankles, Gabriel finds himself endeared by the low-budget charm of the place that raised him. The long way home, the little details, it all feels important. 

“Woah, look up.” Jack gestures when they pause at a stop sign, and Gabriel sees stars he's never known. They sit there with the windows open and their necks cranked for a long stretch, until headlights approach from behind. “Wish I could bring you out for a meteor shower, it's worth the trip.” 

“I bet.” Gabe's stomach growls as they approach Jack's parents' street, prompting a frown. “Goddamnit, popcorn always makes me hungry, You wanna grab some fries?” 

“We can't, they're closed.” 

“Yeah, I mean through the drive-thru.” 

“No, they're closed-closed.” 

“What like, everything?” Jack nods, his expression a little hard to gauge on the side with his glass eye. “Okay, what if we grab some snacks from the corner store?” 

“Also closed, unless you want to drive to the gas station by the highway.” Jack snickers at last, shaking his head and picking up Gabe's hand to brief kiss his knuckles. “Just raid the fridge, Mom doesn't mind.” 

“What did you even do for fun as a kid? Go cow-tipping?” 

“I mean, not successfully. We mostly just drove around.” Jack's fingers clasp over Gabe's on the gearshift. “That's why you always had at least one friend with a pool.” 

They tiptoe into the darkened house and make the most of Jack's creaky bed. They wake up far too early, the air warm enough for sweatshirts and coffee on the porch. Jack's parents have one of those nice bench swings that looks out over the fields and the long curve of the road. Jack is warm and sleep-rumpled against his side, the pair of them utterly content to sit in silence as the sun burns the dew off the grass. 

Jim emerges, clad in a casual ensemble of jacket, jeans, and a Planned Parenthood t-shirt, and Gabe slides a couple inches to the right. “I think we'll wait a little for breakfast, Beth had to dash out to the hospital at three this morning.” 

“Seriously? I didn't even hear her go.” 

“Slightly-premature labour, I think. If she's not back by seven we'll wrap something up for her.” He glances off, scratching the side of his nose, his mannerisms eerily familar. “Ah, Gabriel, I hate to bother you, but my truck made a godawful screeching noise when I started it up last night. Do you mind taking a look and seeing if it'll last the drive to the shop?” 

“Oh yeah, it's probably a fan belt.” Gabe gets up to follow and Jack squeezes his wrist, promising eggs and turkey bacon when they return. Jim doesn't say anything as they follow the dirt path around the barn to what's less a garage and more a large, open shed. Under the hood, the Ford pickup is aged but decently maintained. “Mind holding a light for me?” 

“That I can do.” Jim rummages around a well-organized pile of junk and hoists a flashlight brighter than the sun. “I can change the oil just fine, anything else and I have to drive out to Clear Creek.” 

Gabriel hums, running through his usual checks in the stretch of silence. Jack's dad might not be all that thrilled with him, but he's not about to leave an old man stranded on the side of the road. “Yeah, definitely needs a new belt, and sparkplugs. You might make the drive but I was gonna take the kids into town anyways to do the tourist thing, I can just stop at an auto parts store while we're there.” 

Jim frowns, in the same not-unfriendly way that Jack does. “Oh no, I don't want to put you out of your way. You're supposed to be on vacation.” 

“Ah, it won't take long.” Gabe wipes his hands on the rag offered to him. “Besides, I don't think the kids would mind a little alone time.” 

“Yeah, they're at that age.” Jim chuckles, slotting the flashlight away as they head out of the musty air. “Your girl there's really sharp, Beth let her fix up the computer last night and it runs perfectly now. For a while it was too slow to bother with.” 

“Oh yeah, she's miles ahead of me at that stuff.” Gabe smiles, though he's silently begging the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit that Olivia didn't give in to the impulse to pull some kind of prank. Last time he let her fix his phone, she set all his ringtones and alarms to horrific screaming noises. 

“And your son can drive stick-shift, don't see that too often these days.” He runs a hand through his white hair, a little overgrown and in need of a barber. “I tried to teach Jack when he was a little too young. He popped it out of gear and went right through the fence, had to get it towed out. Don't tell him I told you.” 

Gabriel can't help but crack up. “Yeah, I think I'll have to make fun of him for that one eventually.” 

Jim snickers in that way some older men do, where they smile and their shoulders shake but not much noise comes out. “You're a good guy, lot less uptight than the last one. I think he needs that.” 

Gabe hums, searching for a meaningful response when Jim turns off towards the front of the barn. “Need some help?” 

“Nah, I'm just gonna feed the girls,” meaning his hens. Jim pauses with hands in his pockets. “Jesse wanted to help with the cows today, I'd hate to deprive him. He was awfully excited.” 

Jess is indeed, and a little ironically, the most at-home out of all of them. Olivia does fine, busying herself with painting Beth's nails when she returns and disappearing into her games when time stretches out like a lazy cat. Maybe it's unfair to worry about her, but clever kids get bored easy. She's getting better at entertaining herself as she gets older though, and she was snarkier on Easter weekend than she is out here. 

It's Jack who seems out of place. The nostalgic narration drops off and he seems unenthused to return after their outings, haunting the house rather than relaxing. He alternates between hovering at Gabe's side and wandering off alone, caught in a strange circuit as the week winds down. “What's up?” 

“Nothing,” the face half-mushed into the pillow replies. He tends to get moody and philosophical after he comes. Maybe Gabe does too, if he's being honest. 

“Jack, come on.” 

A tired sigh, an unspectacular surrender. “I'm trying to have a good time, okay? I honestly am.” 

“You don't have to prove anything to me.” Gabe half-shrugs, head resting on his bare arm. “I just wanna know what's got your panties in a twist.” 

He snorts, but doesn't acknowledge the remark. “I- you know, when you come back and you're good for like two weeks and then you wake up one day wanting to bash your head off the wall until you pass out?” 

“Oh yeah.” Gabe resettles himself, squinting at Jack's inscrutable expression in the dark. “I'd have these weird- rage seizures, almost, where I'd blow up over basically nothing and not even be able to explain myself. It was like being a toddler again.” 

“Ff, yeah, that's it.” Jack's voice picks up a little, like he's wrapping around the thought for the first time. He scrubs a hand over his face and rolls onto his back. “They were staying with me in the hotel while I wrapped up my outpatient stuff at the rehab hospital, and right after we bought tickets to go home- I just couldn't. I paced a fucking groove into the carpet, felt like I was gonna come out of my skin.” 

“So you didn't?” 

He shakes his head. “I paid for an extra month while I figured my shit out, and then I took my bags and went out West.” 

“Shit.” Gabe is almost impressed. He never would have guessed this was the first they'd had their only son home since he was discharged by shrapnel. 

“I wish I could like it here, I wish I could stay.” Jack's words land quiet and reluctantly desperate against the ceiling. “I wish I could just come back and farm and forget everything, but this place feels like a fucking shrine to everything I didn't end up becoming.” 

Gabe's throat tightens along with every muscle in his partner's body. “Listen, Jack, maybe you should-” 

“I tried, I promise I did. I'm doing better than I was.” He sighs and reaches for Gabriel's hand, holding it loosely. “I don't want to burden you with-” 

“Do not even finish that fucking sentence, I swear to God.” His eyeroll might not be visible to Jack, but it's necessary. “Last thing the world needs is another vet who's too jaded and full of himself to work through his manpain.” 

Jack, stalled mid-sentence, breaks on a laugh so light and dissonant as to genuinely surprise him. “Fuck, you get it. You actually get it. Shit, the difference that makes.” 

Gabe hears footsteps in the hall and rolls over on instinct, turning back to find Jack embracing him with his whole body, a renewed hunger in his touch and an honest expression that he almost doesn't recognize. 

“Charley got me out of bed most days, but I forgot how to want anything until I met you.” He buries his face against Gabe's throat, arms coming around to hold him fast despite the scrunched position they've ended up in. “I fully don't know who or what the hell I am anymore, but when you're around, I don't care.” 

“Wow, okay, that's a lot,” Gabe laces the words with humour, to incomplete success. 

“Yeah, I know, but it's the truth.” Jack chuckles, pressing a kiss to the corner of Gabe's mouth and exhaling, their foreheads tipped together. “God, I can't wait to get back.” 

In the cramped bed, in the space of less time than they'd spent blowing each other, Jack shows Gabe how much he loves him, how deeply he wants all of him. He didn't even know his body could receive this kind of tenderness, though Jack's been working up to it all along. That chapped kiss on the front step months ago was just a preview, a sample of long-shelved possibilities, for both of them. 

Jack hugs both of his parents tight at the airport and promises to call. Jess drools from one gate to the next, stoned off his poor skinny ass on travel meds and infrequently slumping into Olivia's personal bubble. There's a relief to climbing into their own car and picking Charley up from the kennel, even though the drive home hits afternoon LA traffic and they all separately long to be lifted from this mortal plane and spared this torment. 

“Can we stop at the beach?” 

“What for?” Gabe glances in the rearview. Olivia used to ask that when she was little and he'd had a shitty day. He always thought he hid it well, but couldn't ignore the pattern. 

“Just to go for a walk, my legs are killing me.” She fidgets in her seat, years off from true understanding of joint pain. “Besides, we already missed our exit.” 

Gabe glances up, curses, and agrees. 

It's nearing sunset when they park. Definitely too cold for swimming and lacking in tourists, the sky hellishly beautiful in a mix of reds and orangey-pinks. The kids follow the wet sand, where the dimpled water laps and soaks their feet, making them shout. Jack and Gabe lay footprints in the dry sand, still bundled for the Midwest and their hands intertwined casually, cozily. Charley runs out to the end of her leash, galloping to nowhere in particular. 

They still a while and stare out over the curvature of the Earth. The ocean too immense to become cliche, no matter how many photo prints and disappointing films use it as emotional leverage. Gabriel loses himself for a while, drawn back to reality by a cold nose pressed against his fingers. A beatific Golden Retriever smile beams up at him, asking for a head-pat and his attention to be drawn back to the man at his side. 

There's a disappointment writ in his face and the souvenirs-of-sorts he insisted on buying for the kids, packed away in their trunk. The strength of his grip on Gabe's hand belies the reason. A man defined by loyalty can't be satisfied by half-measures. He had wanted to give Gabe his turn to laugh at baby pictures and meet the supporting cast of his life, but couldn't offer the same presence as he does in his kitchen, his bed, and the other side of the grocery cart. Not now, not yet. 

But there's a future built in Gabe's mind for all of them, together. A future that requires as much if not more of his own loyalty, as well as an honesty to neatly slice through all his own bullshit and pull the truth, bloodied and naive, from his chest. Jack's stubborn love won't be sustained on anything less, and neither will Gabriel's. 

“Hey.” Gabe turns his head before they have to go home to sleep and wake up for work, school, and shared existential dread. “Wanna move in with me?” 

The grouchy pallor cracks into something younger and almost abashed. “What, you're serious?” 

Gabriel flicks up an eyebrow. “I'm not asking twice.” 

A beat, a slow smile, the affectionate lift between his ribs that he's no longer able to deny. “Yeah, okay.” A tug at his hand and on Charley's long leash, a beckon to Jesse and Olivia, kicking saltwater at each other's shins. “Come on, let's go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I couldn't do R76 without a little angst, but this is definitely the lighter and fluffier version.   
> Thanks once again to sinuamor, who deserves co-writing as well as beta reading credit! All the funny dialogue comes from her ideas. (Do we have elaborate headcanons about Gabe's family? Of course we do)   
> Stay safe, stay sane, and have a wonderful day <3!

**Author's Note:**

> Huge shoutout to my beta reader and all-around cool kid Kiki <3 please follow her on tumblr at sinunamor and like all her art, she's very talented ^^!  
> Also shoutout to her HCs for inspiring/co-creating this story and lifting me out of the well of writer's block. I'm hoping to write other stories this summer (like Shimada Bros requests that are long overdue), but yeah, the *ahem* Backstreet Boys World Tour has been a lot. I hope you're all safe and well and this chunk of fluff brought some joy into your lives, take care friends <3!  
> P.S. Everybody put your paws together and pray for our favourite goth uncle, he's trying his best


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